April 26, 2003

Sam Aiken was confident he was going to go during the first day of the NFL draft. The New Orleans Saints had hoped he would still be there in Saturday's third round, but the first, second and third rounds came and went with the Fuquay-Varina, N.C., senior not having his name called among the first 12 wide receivers chosen in the draft.

After setting single season records last fall with 68 catches for 990 yards and four touchdowns, the 6-foot-2, 205 pounder was projected somewhere between the second and fourth rounds. One scout said, "He's got good size and quick hands, and he's really tough." However, there was some concern about his speed and his quickness coming off the line of scrimmage, and a few scouts think he might struggle gaining separation against some of the league's best cornerbacks. That concern may have kept him out of the first three rounds.

As expected, Michigan State's Charles Rogers was the first wide receiver drafted. He was taken number two overall by the Detroit Lions. Miami's Andre Johnson was the next pick, and he went to the Houston Texans. Bryant Johnson of Penn State went 17th to the Arizona Cardinals.

Then in the second round, Florida's Taylor Jacobs was drafted by the Washington Redskins as the 44th pick. Bethel Johnson of Texas A&M went next to the New England Patriots. Anquan Boldin of Florida State, one of only six ACC picks during the first day, went to the Arizona Cardinals as the 54th selection. Six picks later the Tennessee Titans took Tyrone Calico out of Middle Tennessee State, and Stanford's Teyo Johnson was chosen by the Oakland Raiders as the 63rd choice.

Tennessee's Kelley Washington, rated the number three wide receiver, didn't go until early in the third round when he was picked up by the Cincinnati Bengals. Nate Burleson from Nevada-Reno went to the Minnesota Vikings just before Utah's Kevin Curtis was drafted by the St. Louis Rams. Three spots before the third round ended the Philadelphia Eagles scooped up Billy McMullen of Virginia.

Aiken wasn't the only wide receiver disappointed Saturday. Three others who had been rated among the top ten--Illinois's Brandon Lloyd, Talman Gardner of Florida State and USC's Kareem Kelly--also didn't get drafted during the first day.

In addition to Boldin and McMullen, the other ACC selections included defensive end Calvin Pace of Wake Forest, the league's only first round choice. He went 18th to the Arizona Cardinals. Maryland linebacker E.J. Henderson was drafted by Minnesota in the second round, and defensive end Alonzo Jackson of Florida State was claimed by Pittsburgh. Virginia's Angelo Crowell, an inside linebacker, was picked by Pittsburgh in the third round.

So Aiken will wait until tomorrow along with several other ACC standouts including Carolina teammate and tight end Zach Hilton.